
ConocoPhillips (COP): Analysts Are Bullish On This Oil and Gas Stock Now
Washington: In the heat of the 2000 presidential campaign, Democratic candidate vice president Al Gore took a break from barnstorming battleground states to attend a fundraiser for the Democratic National Committee in East Hampton, New York. Standing behind Gore onstage was Scott Bessent, a hedge fund manager and — at the time — a major donor to Democrats who cohosted the event at his home. On Saturday AEDT, Bessent was tapped by President-elect Donald Trump to be his Treasury secretary. Having won the trust of Trump and his inner circle, Bessent would lead a Republican economic agenda of cutting taxes, culling federal regulations and enacting sweeping tariffs. As Treasury secretary, Scott Bessent would help Donald Trump as he attempts to remake the US economy. Credit: AP The selection caps an extraordinary career arc for an investor who was once a protege of liberal billionaire philanthropist George Soros and gave money to top Democrats, including Hillary Clinton, John Kerry and Barack Obama. “He was very supportive of the causes and the people that we supported,” said Will Trinkle, a Democrat who cohosted the event with Gore. He noted that Bessent, who would be the first openly gay Treasury secretary, was a strong advocate for gay rights and marriage equality. If confirmed by the Senate, Bessent would help Trump as he attempts to remake the US economy. As Treasury secretary, Bessent would work to steer tax cuts through Congress, lead trade negotiations with China and help cull federal regulations that Trump believes are stifling the economy. Bessent, 62, declined to be interviewed. But friends and former colleagues described him as driven by data and as intellectually curious, with an ability to work with people from across the ideological and political spectrum. Raised in a fishing village in South Carolina, Bessent is the son of a real estate developer who experienced several of his own financial booms and busts. He went on to Yale University, where he was class treasurer, wrote for The Yale Daily News and wanted to become a journalist. In college, Bessent reflected on the challenges of being a Southerner in New England, writing in the paper in 1981: “I was the only one in the dorm who was heartbroken when George Wallace decided not to run for president.”BMW praises Tesla's Full Self-Driving technology on social media
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